“Was she his girlfriend?”

“I don’t know what to call it,” Theresa said. “I think he gave her money. I think he liked her. She was a lot younger.”

“I heard Flynn nearly took off Touchie Kiley’s head one night.”

Theresa nodded.

“Yeah, I heard about that,” she said. “I think Julie kind of appreciated it. People had stopped respecting her. You know, because of the drugs and all. She wasn’t the world’s greatest mom, either. But I guess you figured that out from Mattie.”

“So they were sort of dating.”

“I think Flynn was married,” Theresa said. “Or had been married. I didn’t like him. He creeped me out. I thought Julie had hit rock bottom. And then she latches on to Jack Fuckin’ Flynn, not a month after he gets out of Walpole.”

“You knew who he was?”

“He has a rep.”

I nodded.

“You know how some people got that?”

“Many would say I have a rep,” I said.

I sipped some beer. I studied the view of the interstate and parking lot. A woman passed by the window, pulling her luggage on wheels. When the piece wouldn’t jump the curb, she picked it up with a lot of effort. She did not look like she was having a good day.

“Can I have another drink?”

I nodded. I got her another double Jack. I continued sipping my second Noble Pils. Moderation in all things.

I sat down and let her drink. We remained quiet as cars zipped past on the interstate. Rain pattered the windshields of parked cars. People stood outside, smoking under the porte cochere.

“What happened the night she died?”

“Flynn was mad,” she said.

“I figured that.”

“He snatched me up off a barstool in the pub. He’d parked outside on a curb and tossed me into his car. We drove around for like three hours. He made me call Julie about a dozen times. He was sure she’d gone to the police.”

“About what?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “He was fucking pissed. I finally found out she was drunk and had gone home.”

I nodded. “That’s when he sent Red and Moon to pick her up.”

“Flynn told them to meet us out at this construction site near The Point,” she said. “The university has a couple buildings there now. Why should I tell you all this? Flynn will fucking kill me.”

“Is that why you ran?”

“He called me.”

I nodded.

“I was scared shitless,” she said. “He calls me up a few nights back and asks what I’ve been saying about him and Jules. He says he wanted to remind me that he let me live. Just like that, let me live. Like he was a great guy or some shit.”

“How did he know we talked?”

“Southie ain’t very big.”

I nodded.

“Can we go outside?” she asked. “I’m dying for a fucking cigarette.”

I stood, reached for a few bucks in my pocket, and left a tip. She downed the last gulp of her Jack and grabbed her coat.

We walked to the back of the hotel and the covered swimming pool. The deck tables and chairs were buried in snow and growing thick with ice. The rain pattered on the brim of my ball cap. Theresa smoked, craning her head to study the sky. The cold rain was more an annoyance than a displeasure.

“Flynn told me to stay in the car,” she said. “He got out when they drove up. He told Red and Moon to take me home. They’d parked her down a ways. I remember they kept their headlights on. I noticed a lot of bulldozers and stuff. I could see Julie get out of the car while Red and Moon was walking toward me. Flynn dragged her into the car.”

“For how long?”

“Five minutes. Long enough,” she said. “I think Red and Moon stayed around for Flynn to tell them what to do. But Flynn was in the car. You know. When he finished, Flynn got out of the car and yanked her with him. Her clothes were all torn and shit. I saw him smack her.”

I nodded. I let her talk.

“Red and Moon knew what was about to happen and told me to get in the backseat,” she said. She finished the cigarette and started a new one. The wind and rain were very cold. I could feel my face tighten. “I got in back, and I remember asking those pieces of shit to please not kill me.”

“What did they say?”

“Red told me to get down low and shut the fuck up. He started the car and started to drive off.”

I turned up my collar. A man who worked for the hotel opened a side door and asked if we’d been locked out. I told him we were fine. Theresa was shaking. She smoked and stared at the pool cover. Rain flecked her face.

“They was turnin’ around when I saw it,” she said. “I didn’t want to. But I screamed. You ever screamed like it’s involuntary? I mean, I had to cover my mouth, but I couldn’t stop it. You couldn’t stop it.”

“What did you see?”

“I saw her yelling at him, and Flynn’s hand come from his pocket with something silver,” she said. “He just kept jabbing her with it. I seen her fall to her knees. I seen the blood. Oh, Jesus. What the fuck do you want me to say?”

She shook even more, teeth chattering. She tossed the cigarette onto the pool cover, where it went out with a hiss. I took off a glove and put a hand to her cheek. Her nose ran, and she looked as if she might get sick.

I told her I was very sorry. I never felt more awful about saying sorry. Sorry seemed inadequate.

“Last thing I saw was Julie trying to stand,” Theresa said. “She was fucking screaming at Flynn, giving him hell. I give her that. She never lost that spirit. I know even cut up like she was, she was telling him he was nothing but a rotten piece of shit.”

I took back my hand. I put an arm around her. She was sobbing hard, her body almost in revolt under my shoulder. Her hair was very wet.

“He got in Red’s car and fucking ran her down,” she said.

“But it was Mickey Green’s car,” I said.

“I had turned to see the thing out the back window. You could see it all in those headlights. Red told me to look away and to keep my fucking mouth shut. But Flynn knew. He’s wanted me dead a long time. But he didn’t think I had it in me.”

“Did the police talk to you during the investigation?”

Theresa laughed. “Right. They really went all CSI trying to find out who killed the junkie whore from Southie,” she said. “No one cared about Julie. I never even saw a single detective. Next thing I know, they’ve arrested Mickey.”

“And you didn’t speak up.”

“‘Speak up’? Are you not fucking listening? Flynn said he would kill me and my whole family. Hell, no, I didn’t speak up. I was relieved that it was over.”

“But it’s not over. Mattie needs to know. And Flynn probably sees you as a loose end he should’ve tied up. I can make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“I don’t want to die.”

“You won’t.”

“You promise?”

I nodded. “Let’s get you packed.”

“Why?”

“You need to change motels,” I said. “If I can find you, so can Flynn.”

50

Long shadows fell across the Charles River esplanade. Ice hung in the trees, but the paths had been salted and cleared. I wore long underwear under my gray sweatshirt and sweatpants, along with a watch cap and gloves. The grains of salt brought a comforting crunch under my New Balance shoes, rounding the corners, heading back toward the Shell.

I kept a decent pace down to Boston University and the old Braves field. The talk I’d had with Mattie after picking her up at school hadn’t been pleasant. She’d been so sure for so long that Red and Moon had killed her mother. She’d felt relief for all of a few hours, and then I had to tell her that another man was still out there. But rules had to be set. I introduced her to a couple Boston police prowl car boys who’d be keeping tabs. I would be there every morning and afternoon until this was done.

The name Jumpin’ Jack Flynn meant nothing to her.